Electric switch



M r 1952 H. L. VAN VALKENBURG ETAL 2,589,167

ELECTRIC SWITCH 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed March 15, 1946 H T a w N mim M y xZ 37 a; 4:. i zfl Zy H M r h ,1 H. L. VAN VALKENBURG ETAL 2,589,167

ELECTRIC SWITCH Filed March 15. 1946 2 SHEETS-SI-IEET 2 Patented Mar.11, 1952 ELECTRIC SWITCH Hermon L. Van Valkenburg, Wauwatosa, and

Kenneth G. Sedgwick, Shorewood, Wis., assignors to Square D Company,Detroit, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan Application March 15, 1946, Serial No. 654,624

9 Claims.

This invention relates to an electric switch, and more particularly toan electric switch having cooperating contacts engaged and disengaged inresponse to energization and de-energization of an electromagneticoperator.

One object .of the invention is the provision of an electric switchhaving a sectional insulating block upon which the stationary contactsare mounted, having improved features of removability and accessibilityfor the contacts.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an electric switchin which the contacts are readily changeable from normally open tonormally closed type without manipulation of the stationary contacts.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an electric switchin which the movable contact is in the form of a bridging element with abiasing spring in which the bridging element and biasing spring areformed as a unit assembly readily reversible top for bottom to changethe bridging element from a normally closed to a normally open contact.

Another object of the invention is an electric switch with normallyclosed contacts having their spring bias determined by the operatingarmature and its associated carrier in which an adjustable spring biasis applied to the armature to assist the gravitational bias thereon withthe spring adjustment compensating for the bias exerted on the armatureby the contact springs.

Other objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art from the specification and appended drawingsillustrating certain preferred embodiments in which:

Figure l is a front elevational view of the switch according to thepresent invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line II--II of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the switch.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the movable contact element inits normally'disengaged arrangement.

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the movable contact arrangementof Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the movable contact element inits normally engaged position.

Figure 7 is a front elevational view of the movablecontact arrangementof Figure 6.

In the electric switch, according to the present invention, there isprovided a back mounting plate I in which are rigidly secured a pair offorwardly extending elongated mounting studs .2 and '3. Upon the studs 2and 3 are slidably mounted a pair of mating insulating blocks 4 and 5rigidly secured upon the studs 2 and 3 by nuts 6 threaded thereon. Theinsulating blocks have front and back walls 1 and 8, side walls 9 and Hand a plurality of intermediate barrier walls [2 and [3, with the sideand barrier walls of the blocks meeting to form individual chambers.Within these chambers and upon the back face of the wall I and the frontface of the wall 8 are supported conducting connectors 14 and I5carrying terminal connectors I6 and I! at their upper ends for thereception of circuit wiring. The conducting connectors l4 and 15 are L-shaped as shown in Figure 2, and at their interior ends carry stationarycontacts l8 and IS on their lower faces and additional stationarycontacts 2| and 22 on their upper faces.

Rigidly secured to the back plate I is a generally E-shaped stationaryfield magnet 23 about the middle leg of which is disposed an operatingcoil 24. Slidably disposed at the sides of the front leg of the fieldmagnet 23 is a carrier 25 of general U shape having pivotally mounted toits lower leg a bridging armature 2'3 by means of a pin 2! maintained inposition by spring element 28. To the upper leg of the carrier 25 ismounted an insulating contact bar 29 having a plurality of integralposts 3| extending upwardly therefrom and upon which the movable contactunits are mounted.

On the front face of the field magnet 23 is mounted a stationary support32 having an upwardly extending flange 33 disposed in a slot in thecontact bar 29 to serve as a guide therefor in its reciprocatorymovement. The lower leg of the carrier 25 has a downwardly extendingflange 34 and pivotally disposed between the flange 34 and the support32 is a lever 35 pivotally connected thereto by tongue and slotengagement.

In the lower portion of the support 32 there are provided a supportingflange 36 and guide flanges 31 which serveto retain a freely rotatablescrew element 38, this element having a reduced throat portion at flange36 so that it may be rotated without effecting longitudinal movement.Between the screw element 38 and the flange 34 is disposed a biasingspring 39 having the end loop 4| thereof disposed in the spiral threadon the screw element so that rotation of the screw is accompanied byvertical movement of the loop.

Extending from the posts 3| of the contact 7 bar 29 are mounting studs52 for the movable contact assembly, the horizontal faces of the element42 and cap 5| having holes therein through which the stud 52 extendswith the spring 43 being of a size to receive the stud 52 therein. A nut53 holds the element 42 and its cap 5| rigidly upon the post 3| with thebridging element 44 free to reciprocate therein, but biased to itsextreme position by the contact pressure spring 43.

The parts as shown in Figures 4 and 5 are in the normaly disengagedposition where the contacts are disengaged' when the operating coil 24is deenergized. To change the contacts to the normally closed type, asillustrated in Figures 6 and 7, the only operation is a reversal top forbottom of the movable contact unit asssembly formed by the element 42,cap 5|, bridging element 44 and spring 43. This is done by removing thenut 53 and moving the contact assembly top for bottom with replacementof the nut to secure it in position. It is to be noted that theconnectors l4 and. I5 have stationary contacts on both their top andbottom faces and thatno change is necessary in the stationary contactsor their supporting connectors to modify the contact operation fromnormally engaged to normally disengaged. In the normally disengagedposition, movable contacts 48 and 45 cooperate with the stationarycontacts l8 and Hi to make and break the circuit and in the normallyengaged position of Figures 6 and 7 the movable contacts 48 and 49cooperate with the stationary contacts 2| and 22.

As the contacts are changed from normally disengaged to normally engagedpositions, it is seen that an additional spring bias is placed upon thearmature 25 and the carrier and contact bar moved thereby by the springs43 which are stressed after engagement of the cooperating contacts. Tocompensate for this upwardly directed spring bias on the armature andits associated elements, the spring 39 issadjustable by the screwelement 38 so that the downward bias on the armature 26 exerted by thespring 39 may be increased or decreased as more or less of the contactsare placed in the normally engaged arrangement.

With the contact mounting blocks herein used, maximum accessibility isprovided for the stationary and movable contacts as a simple removal ofthe nuts 6 permits front block 4 and the stationary contact connectorsl4 mounted thereon to be readily slid forward and off of the studs 2 and3. To remove the back contact block 5, the movable contacts may beremoved either individually or as a unit by removal of the bar 29whereby the back contact block 5 and the stationary contact connectorsl5 mounted thereon are slid forwardly from the studs 2 and 3. Thisreadyaccessibility and removal of the insulating blocks facilitates therepair and replacement of the stationary and movable contacts.

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have beenspecifically disclosed, it is understood that the invention is notlimited thereto, as many variations will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art and the invention is to be given its broadestpossible interpretation within the terms of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

'1. In an electric switch, a support, a back insulating block, a frontinsulating block, means for mounting said blocks upon the support,barrier walls on said blocks mating in the block supported position toform a plurality of individual chambers between the blocks, sets ofspaced stationary contacts mounted in said chambers, one contact of eachset :being mounted on the back insulating block and one contact of eachset being mounted on the front insulating block, movable bridgingcontacts cooperating with said sets of stationary contacts, aninsulating carrier upon which said movable contacts are mounted, saidmovable contacts including a unit assembly of a bridging element, acontact pressure spring and an enclosure therefor, and means for readilyreversing said unit assembly bodily top for bottom on the carrier tovary the contact arrangement from normally engaged to normallydisengaged.

2. In an electric switch, a support, a back insulating block, a frontinsulating block, means for mounting said blocks upon the support,barrier walls on said blocks mating in the block supported position toform a plurality of individual chambers between the blocks, sets ofspaced stationary contacts mounted in said chambers, one contact of eachset being mounted on the back insulating block and one contact of eachset being mounted on the front insulating block, movable bridgingcontacts cooperating with said sets of stationary contacts, aninsulating carrier upon which said movable contacts are mounted, saidmovable contacts including a unit assembly of a bridging element, acontact pressure spring, and an enclosure therefor, means for readilyreversing said unit assembly bodily top for bottom on the carrier tovary the contact arrangement from normally engaged to normallydisengaged, said front insulating block and the stationary contactsmounted thereon being readily removable from the support to facilitatemanipulation of the movable contacts.

3. In an electric switch, a support, a back insulating block, a frontinsulating block, means for mounting said blocks upon the support,barrier walls on said blocks mating in the block supported position toform a plurality of individual chambers between the blocks, sets ofstationary cont-acts mounted in said chambers, one contact of each setbeing mounted on the back insulating block and one contact of each setbeing mounted on the front insulating block, said stationary contactseach having two contact surfaces facing in opposite directions, movablebridging contacts cooperating with said stationary contacts, and meansfor reversing the movable contacts to change the contact arrangementfrom normally engaged to normally disengaged, said change in contactarrangement being effected without modifying the position of thestationary contacts, each of said movable contacts including a unitassembly of a bridging contact element, contact pressure spring andmeans maintaining them in their cooperating relation, the unit assemblybeing bodily reversible as a unit top for bottom to facilitate thereversal of the movable contact.

4. In an electric switch, a support, a back insulating block, a frontinsulating block, means for ;mounting said blocks upon the support,barrier walls on said blocks mating in the block supported'nosition toform :a plurality of individual chambers between the blocks, sets ofstationary contacts. mounted in said chambers, one contact of each setbeing mounted on the back insulating block and one contact of each setbeing mounted on the front insulating block, said stationary. contactseach having two contact surfaces facing in opposite directions,.movablebridging contacts cooperating with said stationary contacts, and meansfor reversing the movable contacts to change the contact arrangementfrom normally engaged to normally disengaged, the movable contacts inthe normally engaged position cooperating with the stationary contactsurfaces facing in one direction and in the normally disengaged positioncooperating with the stationary contact surfaces facing in the oppositedirection, the change in contact arrangement being effected withoutmodification of the stationary contact position, each of said movablecontacts including a unit assembly of bridging contact element, contactpressure spring and means maintaining them in their cooperatingrelation, the unit assembly being bodily reversible as a unit top forbottom to facilitate the reversal of the movable contact.

5. In an electric switch, a support, a back insulating block, a frontinsulating block, means for mounting said blocks upon the support,barrier walls on said blocks mating in the block supported position toform a plurality of individual chambers between the blocks, sets ofstationary contacts mounted in said chambers, one contact of each setbeing mounted on the back insulating block and one contact of each setbeing mounted on the front insulating block, said stationary contactseach having two contact surfaces facing in opposite directions, movablebridging contacts cooperating with said stationary contacts, and meansfor reversing the movable contacts to change the contact arrangementfrom normally engaged to normally disengaged, said change in contactarrangement being effected without modifying the position of thestationary contacts, said front insulating block and the stationarycontacts mounted thereon being readily removable as a unit from thesupport to facilitate access to and manipulation of the movable contactsfor the reversal operation, each of said movable contacts including aunit assembly of bridging contact element, contact pressure spring andmeans maintaining them in their cooperating relation, the unit assemblybeing bodily reversible as a unit top for bottom to facilitate thereversal of the movable contact.

6. In an electric switch, a support, a back insulating block, a frontinsulating block, means for mounting said blocks upon the support,barrier walls on said blocks mating in the block supported position toform a plurality of individual chambers between the blocks, sets ofstationary contacts mounted in said chambers, one contact of each setbeing mounted on the back insulating block and one contact of each setbeing mounted on the front insulating block, said stationary contactseach having two contact surfaces facing in opposite directions, movablebridging contacts cooperating with said stationary contacts, and meansfor reversing the movable contacts to change the contact arrangementfrom normally engaged to normally disengaged, the movable contacts inthe normally engaged position oooperating with the stationary contactsurfaces facing in one direction and in the normally disengaged positioncooperating with the stationary contact surfaces facing in the oppositedirection, the change incontact arrangement being effected withoutmodification of the stationary contact position, said front insulatingblock and the stationary contacts mounted thereon being readilyremovable as a unit from the support to facilitate access to themanipulation of the movable contacts for the reversal operation, reachof said movable contacts including a unit assembly of bridging contactelement, contact pressure spring and means maintaining them in theircooperating relation, the unit assembly being bodily reversible as aunit top for bottom to facilitate the reversal of the movable contact.

'7. In an electric switch, a pair of spaced stationary contacts, each ofsaid contacts having two contact surfaces facing in opposite directions,a bridging movable contact cooperating with said stationary contacts toperform the switching operation, a support for said movable contact, andmeans for moving said support to move the bridging contact into and outof engagement with the stationary contacts, said movable contacts whenin one position on said support cooperating with the stationary contactsurfaces facing in one direction, the position of the movable contact onsaid support being readily reversible so that the movable contactcooperates with the stationary contact surfaces facing in the oppositedirection so as to modify the contact operation from normally engaged tonormally disengaged, said movable contact including as a unit assembly abridging contact element, a contact pressure spring and meansmaintaining said bridging element and contact pressure spring incooperating relation whether or not mounted upon the support, thereversal of the movable contact being effected by reversing the unitassembly bodily top for bottom as a unit.

8. In an electric switch, a pair of spaced stationary contacts, abridging movable contact cooperating with said stationary contacts toperform the switching operation, a support for said movable contact,means for moving said support to move the bridging contact into and outof engagement with the stationary contacts, said movable contact beingreversible to cooperate with the stationary contacts in the twopositions to provide for normally engaged and normally disengagedoperations, the movable contact including as a unit assembly a bridgingcontact element, a contact pressure spring, and means maintaining thebridging element and contact pressure spring in cooperating relation,whether or not mounted upon the support, the support mounting providingfor reversal of the movable contact by reversing the unit assemblybodily top for bottom as a unit.

9. In an electric switch, a pair of spaced stationary contacts, abridging movable contact cooperating with said stationary contacts toperform the switching operation, a support for said movable contact,means for moving said support to move the bridging contact into and outof engagement with the stationary contacts, said movable contact beingreversible to cooperate with the stationary contacts in the twopositions to provide for normally engaged and normally disengagedoperations, the movable contact including as a unit assembly a U-shapedmember, a bridging contact element, a contact pressure spring and a capenclosing said spring and bridg- 7 a ing contact element within saidU-shaped mem- UNITED STATES PATENTS her, and means for removably mountmgsaid Number Name Date unit assembly upon said support whereby said2,064,632 Schmitt Dec. 15, 1936 unit assembly may be bodily inverted toCh 2 10 531 Unwin J n 25 1933 the normal operation of said switch. 8 273 37 seeger et aL Sept 19 1939 HERMON VAN VALKENBURG- 2,222,765 GeyerNov. 26, 1940 KENNETH SEDGWICK- 2,254,768 Bierenfeld Sept. 2, 19412,276,698 Pierce Mar. 17, 1942 REFERENCES CITED 2,304,972 Van Valkenburg'Dec. 15, 1942 The following references are of record in the 102,390,344 Ayers Dec. 4, 1945 file of this patent: 2,419,072 H211 Apr.15, 1947

